Hickory Derby - Hickory, NC
Heat Two
Ed Smith, Bill Malbrough, Tommy Miller, Danny Krol, Scott Hutchins, Chris Henton, Billy Edgington, John McCrory, Bambi Rogers, Norm Gibson, Ricky Grimes, Ben Hadsell
Like the previous heat this one had a solid five minutes of action before anyone was eliminated with Bambi Rogers particularly rampant as she smashed into Norm Gibson three straight times; Grimes, Edgington, Krol, and Hutchins also joined the hunt.
But Gibson survived better than others as one of his attackers Ricky Grimes (3rd Jersey Derby, 3rd Texas Nationals, 1st Louisiana Invitational) had his own problems with Hutchins, McCrory and Hadsell forcing him into barriers where, upon freeing himself, only found Rogers waiting for him.
Ben Hadsell (1st Frostbite, Tied-2nd Summer National Derby, 2nd Texas) was not so lucky as he remained embedded in the scenery that Tommy Miller pushed him into, and Bill Malbrough is running out of time if he is to reach a final this season. His latest attempt ending with him in tenth pace as Smith, Hutchins, and Gibson all rocked him twice each.
Billy Edgington (9th Firecracker Open) misses an eighth straight final since his lone qualification, Chris Henton and Danny Krol sealing his fate with four and two hits respectively, and Norm Gibson (1st Lobster Nationals, 1st Texas) was done in eighth place to make him miss back-to-back finals for the first time since he missed out on the opening ten rounds of the season. A blindside from Grimes really crippling his chances after all of the early attention from the pack.
Second in the standings Scott Hutchins will follow the title leader Lozier into the consolation heat after Miller provided the fifth hit against him while he was stalled, and he is joined by Ed Smith who also stalled after blindsiding Miller allowing his last victim and Rogers to finish him off in sixth. Bambi Rogers survived mere seconds after that, John McCrory winning the rabid war between the two of them by rolling her over, and then Tommy Miller lost his own heat-long battle against Danny Krol after five hits were exchanged between the pair.
Victory over Miller and ten hits delivered earned Danny Krol a place in his ninth final and fourth in six weeks. Rogers, Gibson and Smith were forced to ride his challenges before Krol chased down Billy Edgington with a smart one-two shot. Then after taking a second hit from Miller he turned his focus onto his rival before losing out in the final three.
John McCrory, heading towards his eleventh final and second in six, was on a mission as he showed no sign of letting up with massive hits to Grimes and Rogers, but this approach brought it's own share of problems as his engine stalled twice and required timely re-firings. After his brutal dispatch of Rogers McCrory turned his attention to Krol and took one last scalp before Chris Henton charged in to take the heat.
Winning his third heat of the year Chris Henton was all about demolishing Billy Edgington from the start. Four hits and a bad miss later he had one less opponent to worry about. Smith, McCrory and Miller became his next targets and all three would have a second visit from Henton as he swept through them all to reach his eighth straight final; thirteenth for the year.
Race Result
1. Chris Henton
2. John McCrory
3. Danny Krol
4. Tommy Miller
5. Bambi Rogers
6. Ed Smith
7. Scott Hutchins
8. Norm Gibson
9. Billy Edgington
10. Bill Malbrough
11. Ben Hadsell
12. Ricky Grimes
No comments:
Post a Comment